Fly me to the moon....

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February 4th.

Yesterday was a day of adventure. We decided to head to Ao nang beach for the afternoon. So we went to the intersection where you can catch a songthrew and waited for one to come by. About 15 minutes later one arrived, packed to the teets with people. There was room in the cab for jenn, but the back was right full. So along with 3 others, I had to stand on the rear bumper, holding on for dear life to a single metal rod for the 20 minute ride around winding roads and twists and turns. It was pretty scary. But now that I've done it, I feel like more of a rugged traveller than I have until this point.

So we arrived at the beach in one piece. Had a nice float in the ocean (it was extra floaty) Followed by a bake in the sun. After that, we headed to the southeast end of the beach where all the monkeys hang out.

The monkeys really are quite bright. They know when you have somethign they want and will try to take it. I kept them at bay as much as possible by swinging a large water bottle in their direction whenever they got too close, but they are sneaky monkeys. Without warning, one suddenly jumped on my back. I jumped in the air and yelped like a 4 year old girl. Fortunately that was enough of a shock to scare off the ballsy little fucker. At this point they started baring their teeth and looking menacing, so it was time to move on.

We spent the evening sitting at a half dismantled Jody bar, Chatting up some Aussie girls, a frenchman and a couple irish fellows who we may meet up with in Laos (if they stop sleeping through checkout at their hotel.) We talked sports, travelling and then the conversation turned to Booze. All of our respective countries have reputations as drinking countries. But Jenn and I are far from drinkers, so we bowed out after only a few sangsom-cokes, using the excuse of having a flight in the morning. I'm pretty sure the irishmen are still drinking. (its 9:30 am now)

So here we sit now at the Krabi international airport. Waiting for our plane (the only plane at the airport) to start boarding. A quick stopover in bangkok and we'll be on our way to Phenom penh.

We made reservations at the green guesthouse, a nice, clean looking placwe we saw online. Only 15 dollars american per night for an Air con room with private bath, hot shower and in room fridge. That will be the least we've payed for accommidation so far, and if the online reviews of this place are accurate, should be one of the nicest....

A couple hours later...

Here we are in Suvarnakbumi airport in bangkok, waiting for our plane to phnom penh. We're both tired and ready for a lay down, but at least a couple hours away from doing that.
The flight from Krabi was fairly painless, they served some sort of sandwich that didnt have much flavour, but did have frozen vegetables in it... The juice was good though. Total time in the air was only about an hour, followed by another hour of going through customs and security before we finally emerged on the other side. This airport is the size of a small city, going on literally for kilometers in every direction. I finally understand what the moving sidewalks are all about. Not just for the Jetsons anymore.

I sure wish this plane would board.

....

Here we are, several hours later in our hotel room in phnom penh.

The plane ride was pretty bumpy, but we arrived in one piece. At the airport we arranged transportation via tuktuk to our guesthouse. When we told the driver where we were going he commented that most travellers prefer to stay on the riverside. I just took that as an observation. But in retrospect, it may have been a warning...

Anyhow, the traffic in Phenom pehn makes bangkok look like Winnipeg. Everywhere people weaving in and out of lanes on scooters, motos, push bikes and tuktuks. There dont appear to be any sort of laws or rules to the road. People drive on whatever side of the road is convienent.

So far the only white people we've seen were at the airport. Its really hectic and smoggy here.
\

I sure hope tomorrow shows us another side of this city, because today has not been encouraging. Its smoggy and smelly, none of the locals have returned our smiles, and I'm just not getting a good feeling about this place. Also they say that you shouldnt walk around after dark here, as gunpoint robberys are common.

All that shit aside. The superbowl is in a few days, and I need to find a place to watch it soon. I suppose I'll figure that out once we decide if were going to stay here for any amount of time.

As usual, find my pictures on picasaweb.

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